USDA: Wheat Is Overwintering with Few Major Concerns

USDA's Joint Ag Weather Facility says on the Plains, chilly conditions across southern areas contrast with mild, dry weather farther north. "Wheat is overwintering with few major concerns, except for lingering drought on the southern High Plains," USDA says.

In the West, dry weather prevails, according to USDA. Chilly conditions linger in southern California and the Southwest, but mild air is spreading inland from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies, according to USDA. "The wet season has been very slow to start in California and the Great Basin, leading to concerns about pasture and rangeland conditions," says USDA.

In the Corn Belt, USDA reports dry weather and near-normal temperatures prevail. "Eastern Corn Belt producers with corn left in the field continue to wait for saturated soils to freeze before proceeding with harvest," USDA explains.

USDA's outlook says a batch of rain moving across the Southeast will clear the Atlantic Coast by early Saturday. "Meanwhile, temperatures will quickly rebound to above-normal levels across the nation’s mid-section, with warm weather returning to the East by early next week," USDA says. Farther west, however, weekend freezes may occur in California’s San Joaquin Valley, USDA adds. "Precipitation will develop across the south-central U.S. by Monday and become locally heavy. Early next week, significant rain will also spread into the Mid-South and parts of the Southeast, while some wet snow will accumulate in the Corn Belt," USDA explains. Elsewhere, mostly dry weather will prevail during the next five days across Florida’s peninsula and from northern and central California to the northern Plains and upper Midwest, according to USDA.